A few articles ago, I reviewed a pair of woman’s Chinese Manchu-era pedestal shoes. The site they were purchased from, stylishcn.com, also has men’s Chinese opera boots. The boots are about as colorful and fancy as the gaudiest American cowboy boots, were relatively inexpensive, and look great on the shelf next to the red Manchu shoes. Once again, these are not Japanese.
These boots are worn by male actors playing male roles in Chinese opera productions. The higher the rank of the part being portrayed, the higher the platform soles and the fancier the stitching. Stylishcn.com has them in red, yellow, and black. The yellow was so striking that for once I passed on red.
The soles are white painted wood with leather on the bottoms, about 6.5 cm (2 1/2 inches) thick, and surprising light-weight. The boot tops are about 38 cm (15 inches) high, and like geta, there is no left-right — either boot fits either foot. They’re comfortable, easy to walk on, and feel very stable in spite of their somewhat narrow, 7 cm (2 3/4 inches), bottoms.
So, if you ever have a yen (or maybe a yuan) to sing opera in Peking, you now know what shoes to wear.